Jump to content

Forcepoint: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m Adding protection template to a protected page) (bot
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
{{COI}}

{{pp-protected|expiry=2012-04-03T05:42:21Z|small=yes}}
{{pp-protected|expiry=2012-04-03T05:42:21Z|small=yes}}
{{Infobox company
{{Infobox company

Revision as of 06:20, 26 March 2012

Websense, Inc.
Company typepublic (Nasdaq: WBSN)
Industrycontent-control software (web filtering / Internet filtering) [1]
Founded1994
HeadquartersSan Diego, California
Key people
John Carrington, Chairman
Gene Hodges, CEO
John McCormack, President
Productscontent-control software, web security, email security, Web filtering. and Information Leak Prevention
Revenue$332 million
Number of employees
1,450
Websitehttp://www.websense.com/

Websense is a San Diego-based company specializing in web filtering software.[1]

Their software is used by customers, including companies, schools and libraries, to protect their networks from spyware, prevent students from viewing sexual or other inappropriate content, discourage employees from spending time browsing webpages instead of working, and similar purposes.[2] It uses a combination of filtering categories and word filters, which has been criticized because it can block innocent websites or content protected by free speech, like sexual education websites.[3] This can be done on purpose as censorship, or simply by accident due to over-reaching categories.[3]

Their web filtering software has come under controversy because some customers use it for censorship of religion (or lack thereof), ideology, and of political organisations, leading some to call it "censorware". Some countries have used it for country-wide blocking of ideologies that the government disapproves of.[3] Websense opposes using the software this way.[3]

History

Websense was founded by Phil Trubey in 1994, and went public in the year 2000.[4]

Apart from web filtering, the company provides email security, and data loss-prevention technology. The software also tracks individual internet usage for the purpose of collecting and reporting on any browsing deviating from the standards set by the library, government or other employer, and its reports can be data drilled by "risk class, category, URL, application, user, workstation, dates, and more."[5]

Products through acquisition

SurfControl was acquired by Websense on October 3, 2007. Websense has indicated it will continue the Surfcontrol business with a full staff until at least 2011.[citation needed]

Websense's proprietary "Deep Content Control" is software designed to protect confidential information. The company says it is a combination of its ThreatSeeker and PreciseID technologies.[6] PreciseID uses software first developed for the Israeli military.[7] The company has a Data Loss Prevention product called Information Leak Prevention, which was developed by the Israel-based data security company PortAuthority Technologies. In December 2006 Websense bought PortAuthority for $90 million.[8][9] Announcing the take-over, Websense said that it was "committed to maintaining the company's research and development presence in Israel."[8]

On January 27, 2009, Websense acquired Defensio, a security company specialized in blog plugins that help to fight spam and malicious links in the comment sections of blogs. This will help expand its ThreatSeeker Network and could be used by webmasters to warn as soon as suspicious content is posted to their websites.[10][11]

Partnership with Facebook

On October 3, 2011, Facebook and Websense announced a partnership in order to protect its users from dangerous links that lead to malicious websites and malware sites. According to TechCrunch,[12] “Going forward, when a Facebook user clicks on a link, the new system will first check the link against Websense’s system to determine whether or not it’s safe. If it’s not, a message is displayed warning the user that the link is potentially harmful and suggests you return to the previous page.”

Web filtering software

The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base uses Websense software as of November 2009[13]

Websense allows system administrators to block access to web sites and other protocols based on categories. These contain lists of sites that may be blocked at will, either at specified times or permanently.[14] This can result in considerable variance in the selection of categories to filter: for example, a 2008 study on the use of Websense within the Technical Colleges of Georgia found that only two categories were blocked in all of the colleges surveyed, and that 39 categories out of the 43 listed were blocked by some, but not all, colleges, with numbers ranging from two colleges blocking a given category to 23 out of the 24 responents.[15] The software offers clients an optional continue button which permits users to access an otherwise blocked category if it is work related.[14]

The ability for public libraries, governments or other employers to block content based on ideology has proved controversial due to the subjects being blocked being controlled by an individual organization or even a single individual. The blocking of sites can exceed that which is required by bodies responsible for the oversight of these institutions, and, in the case of educational institutions, criticism has been leveled at the decision making process.[15] Due to these problems, it's sometimes referred to as "censorware"[16]

Policies can be produced that control either previously identified information that contains 'tags' such as account numbers, credit card records or any combination of many variables. A score is assigned based on a pre defined set of rules and an action applied. The process can be entirely automated but relies upon either pre set policy templates or bespoke rule sets that are developed in house.

In companies, it can prevent the access to sites known to be infected with spyware and other malicious content, it can prevent malicious programs from connecting to outside sites, and it can limit the amount of bandwidth used by individual computers in a network.[2] The mere knowledge that web access is controlled can cause employees to stop using Internet during work hours for personal purposes, out of fear (that they may be caught misusing Internet).[2]

Blocking errors

On occasion, Websense's filter has categorized notable sites in error. In 2007 Norman Finkelstein and Noam Chomsky's websites were blocked by network administrators blocking the 'racism/hate speech' category for approximately 24 hours until Finkelstein complained.[17] For approximately 24 hours in 2009, Websense classified router company Cisco's website under 'hack sites'.[18] Websense has a submission form on the website to report mistaken categorization, although it is only available with an account.[19][20]

In a 2005 report the Rhode Island branch of the American Civil Liberties Union called Websense a deeply flawed technology.[21] It further notes that, although the blocking technology has improved over the years since 2002, it still remains a "blunt instrument" and that in public libraries equipped with Websense people of all ages "are still denied access to a wide range of legitimate material." [21]

A 2006 report by Brennan Center for Justice says that web filtering programs used in schools were error-prone. For Websense, it discovered that a page discussing pornographic content had been blocked despite not containing any pornography, and a whole website had been blocked because one of its pages had sexual content.[22]

In 2011 it was reported by a blogger that Websense would block pages that contained pornographic links anywhere in its content, even in the comments section; "a malicious attacker could get your whole site blocked at any time by the simple procedure of leaving dangerous, malicious or pornographic links in a blog's comments".[23][unreliable source?]

The blocking categories many times contain egregious errors, and blocking of certain categories can be used, accidentally on in purpose, to prevent people from seeing content protected by free speech laws.[3] For example, the software has categories "Professional and Worker Organizations" (such as trade unions), "Sites sponsored by or providing information about political parties and interest groups" (such as civil rights organisations), "Gay or Lesbian or Bisexual Interest", "Sex education", "Sites that provide information about or promote religions not specified in Traditional Religions", and Sports (including civil rights organisations such as the NRA).[3]

The effect of errors with the Websense v4.3.1 software was examined in a comparative study in 2002. The study found that Websense blocked the least number of health-related sites when configured at the least-restrictive settings (only blocking sites in the category of pornography), but that Websense was not the most reliable at blocking pornography at that setting. With all of the tested software the error rate increased as the number of blocked categories was expanded. At the least-restrictive setting the study found that the Websense and the other packages would have little impact on access to health-related information in regard to general topics, but as the settings became more restrictive the impact on health-related searches increased considerably.[24]

Usage by governments

In 2004 Amnesty international listed Websense as one of several foreign companies which had reportedly provided technology that was used to censor and control the use of the Internet in China.[25]

In 2004 the OpenNet Initiative reported that Websense technology was used by the government in Yemen to enforce censorship of the internet.[26] In 2008 it was denounced again by the Yemen Times.[27] The company has a policy of not making business with governments that force censorship of the internet or oppress rights. The only exceptions are for preventing minor from watching adult content and for child pornography.[28] In 2009 it issued a statement about how they were discontinuing the database downloads to the Yemeni ISP, due to the violation of its stated policy.[29][30] but reporters from ONI infer that Websense software was still being used by Yemen’s ISP, YemenNet, to censor Internet access as late as August 2010.[31] Websense was finally discontinued in Yemen sometime around January 2011 [31] and apparently it is no longer being used in any Middle East or North Africa country.[23]

On November 1, 2011, Websense General Counsel, Michael Newman, released a public letter to “challenge all other American technology vendors to join us in prohibiting repressive regimes from using American technology to prevent open communications.”

The letter’s call for action included, “If you are an executive at a security company that makes software that can be used to censor internet activity in repressive regimes, we ask that you support the right course of action and stop selling repressive tools to oppressive regimes.”

In response, the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted, “Websense is pointing to the technology sector in the direction of promoting freedom; BlueCoat represents the aiding oppressors. The choice for other tech companies is clear, and kudos to Websense for leading the way.”

References

  1. ^ a b John R. Vacca (2009), Computer and information security handbook, Morgan Kaufmann series in computer security (illustrated ed.), Morgan Kaufmann, pp. 730, 791, ISBN 9780123743541 In page 730 is listed in chapter "Content blocking", in page 791 it's listed under "Content filtering links"
  2. ^ a b c "Information Highway Patrol", ComputerWorld, vol. 38, no. 22, pp. 28–29, May 31, 2004
  3. ^ a b c d e f "West Censoring East: The Use of Western Technologies by Middle East Censors, 2010-2011y". OpenNet Initiative. 2011-03. Retrieved 2012-01-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "He's All Business On the Internet, Phil Trubey Unveils His Latest Venture Even Though He Could Retire Today". San Diego Business Journal. 2000-12-11. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  5. ^ Websense: reporting tools.
  6. ^ Websense: Deep Content Control
  7. ^ Websense: PreciseID. 24 May 2009 archive.org copy
  8. ^ a b Israel-Times.com Websense to acquire portauthority for 90 million in cash (broken link 26/Feb/2008).
  9. ^ Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (2006-12-20). "Websense to buy PortAuthority". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  10. ^ Websense acquires Canadian blog-spam fighting security company, Maxine Cheung, itbussiness.ca, 2009-02-04
  11. ^ Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (2009-01-27). "With Acquisition Websense to Silence Comment Spam". PCWorld.
  12. ^ http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/03/facebook-partners-with-websense-to-protect-users-from-malicious-sites-and-malware/
  13. ^ Dustin Robbins (JTF Information Assurance Security officer). "Making sense of Websense (copy at File:The_Wire_Issue37v10.pdf)" (PDF). The Wire, issue 37, volume 10, p. 4, November 6, 2009.
  14. ^ a b "The Websense Master Database". Websense.com. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  15. ^ a b Stanley, Carol; Jerry, Stovall (2008). "The Blocked Blog (or Websense and the Technical Colleges' Fight for Academic Freedom)". Georgia Library Quarterly. 45 (1). Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  16. ^ Peacefire WebSENSE Examined
  17. ^ Websense filtering out this site, official website of Norman Finkelstein, "Reader letters: reply from Websense stating that www.normanfinkelstein.com has been reviewed and now categorised as 'News and Media'"
  18. ^ John Leyden (2009-03-20). "Websense mistakes Cisco.com for hack site". The Register.
  19. ^ "Tools and Policies". Websense. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  20. ^ "Tools and Policies". Websense. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  21. ^ a b The Rhode Island affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union (April 2005). "R.I. ACLU releases report on "troubling" internet censorship in public libraries". Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2008-12-05 suggested (help)
    * full report.
  22. ^ Marjorie Heins, Christina Cho, Ariel Feldman (2006), Internet filters: a public policy report (PDF), Brennan Center for Justice, p. 38-39{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) intro
  23. ^ a b West Censoring East: Or Why Websense Thinks My Blog is Pornography, Jilian C. York (coauthor of the 2010-2011 ONI report), March 28, 2011 "I will say that Yemen has stopped using Websense and we’re not aware of any other countries–at least in the Middle East and North Africa–that use the software."
  24. ^ Richardson, Caroline R.; Resnick, Paul J.; Hansen, Derek L.; Derry, Holly A.; Rideout, Victoria J. (2002). "Does Pornography-Blocking Software Block Access to Health Information on the Internet". Journal of the American Medical Association (22): 2887–2894. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |Volume= ignored (|volume= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ China: Controls tighten as Internet activism grows "Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, Websense and Sun Microsystems", citing Amnesty International: People’s Republic of China: State Control of the Internet in China, ASA, 17/007/2002, November 2002.
  26. ^ Internet Filtering in Yemen in 2004–2005: A Country Study. OpenNet Initiative.
  27. ^ Jane Novak (6–9 March 2008). "Internet censorship in Yemen". Yemen Times. No. 1135 (volume 8). The government ISP automatically denies internet requests from Yemeni users by using Websense and Antlabs to filter internet content. Websense enables the government to block websites by category and to define specific internet sites to block
  28. ^ Websense Issues Statement on Use of its URL Filtering Technology by ISPs in Yemen "Since we were informed about the potential use of our products by Yemeni ISPs based on government-imposed Internet restrictions in Yemen, we have investigated this potential non-compliance with our anti-censorship policy. Because our product operates based on a database system, we are able to block updated database downloads to locations and to end users where the use of our product would violate law or our corporate policies. We believe that we have identified the specific product subscriptions that are being used for Web filtering by ISPs in Yemen, and in accordance with our policy against government-imposed censorship and compliance review policies (http://www.websense.com/content/censorship-policy.aspx), we have taken action to discontinue the database downloads to the Yemeni ISPs"
  29. ^ Websense Sets the Record Straight on its Anti-Censorship Policy, Websense General Counsel Mike Newman, 20 August 2009, "The simple answer is that we don’t want or need that kind of business. The purpose of our Web filtering and Web security products is to make the Internet a safer place to do business, ensuring security and organizational productivity, while limiting legal liability for employers. Government censorship is not on our product roadmap."
  30. ^ a b West Censoring East: The Use of Western Technologies by Middle East Censors, 2010-2011 , March 2011, Helmi Noman and Jillian C. York. "From this we may infer, but not definitively establish, that Websense categorizations were still being received and updated in Yemen as of August 2010."

Further reading

  • Access Denied: The Practice and Policy of Global Internet Filtering, Ronald Deibert, John G. Palfrey, Rafal Rohozinski, Jonathan Zittrain, MIT Press, 2008. ISBN 0262541963, 9780262541961

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forcepoint&oldid=483969391"